


Home Cooking

by venhediss



Category: Pyre (Video Game)
Genre: Family Bonding, Gen, Pre-Canon, even if it's adopted family, i'm just guessing at when they may have met up downside, it's still
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-05
Updated: 2017-10-05
Packaged: 2019-01-09 08:31:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 915
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12272712
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/venhediss/pseuds/venhediss
Summary: There is no animal or plant in the Downside that could be considered appetizing. Of this Jodariel was quite certain, having spent the past twelve years scraping a level of subsistence from the blasted land. In her experience, there was no time or place for comfort.Hedwyn, for his part, disagreed with that sentiment.





	Home Cooking

**Author's Note:**

> A short fic written for a friend on the SGG discord; credit for the prompt (and also beta) goes to TobuIshi.

There is no animal or plant in the Downside that could be considered appetizing. Of this Jodariel was quite certain, having spent the past twelve years scraping a level of subsistence from the blasted land.

This place seemed purpose-made to allow nothing more than bare survival; it had held her in a sort of suspended animation, even as she grew more and more accustomed to seeking food, water, shelter. She could not settle for more than a day or two; her stomach was never full, her thirst never entirely quenched; and it was always either too hot or too cold. Every thought was concerned with simply staying alive, such that even crossing off the days of her exile had become something done mostly without consideration. In her experience, there was no time or place for comfort.

Hedwyn, for his part, disagreed with that sentiment.

He inspected the day's forage with a serious expression, comparing the flavors, seeking something resembling balance among a spread of mostly unpalatable foods. He himself had been here almost a year, and by now he knew generally what was available (although, in the week since they had been reunited, Jodariel's expertise had expanded his roster of ingredients a bit).

He let out a heavy sigh and rubbed at his forehead. "Well, I can't say I have a strong preference. Jodi, why don't you pick something for dinner? I'll do my best with whatever it is."

"Hmm..." To tell the truth, Jodariel had no strong preference either. Her only preference was not to starve. She had forgotten how to make choices like this. But she could hardly say no to him, even to such a simple request, not now, so she narrowed her eyes and simply picked a side. "Alright, then. Witherroot."

"Witherroot..." He made a face. Even among a number of upsettingly bad-tasting roots, berries, and vegetables, it was clear this would not have been his choice. "Well, a stew, maybe... Do you think you could start peeling that? I'll see what I can do with what we have left."

Jodariel nodded and, with a small hunting knife, began slicing away at the thick, craggy skin of the roots. Hedwyn was muttering under his breath, getting a fire started, rationing water from what little they had - having twice as many people available to seek out food and water made living a little easier, but it also meant using twice as many supplies.

It wasn't long before he had something bubbling, his frustrated muttering having given way to an old tune Jodariel recognized from the Bloodborder. The combination of everything - the smell of food, the warmth of the fire, Hedwyn's good mood, even just the fact that he was there - it all threatened to coax her weathered expression towards a smile. "'The Outrider's Pursuit'," she remarked, a sharp flick of her knife sending another piece of bark fluttering to the ground. "They're still singing that one? I imagined it might have gone out of style by now."

A _tink_ of metal on metal interrupted the tune, followed by a quiet sipping sound and a hum of dissatisfaction. "It was still required learning when I enlisted, although I hear the lyrics have changed a lot."

"Have they, now?" Her peeling finished, Jodariel set aside the witherroot (it had, in its usual way, begun to stink rather grandly) and put on a grave expression. "I met the woman, you know."

"Surely not."

"Truly. She served in a neighboring unit. Her triumph was sung around many a campfire after that fateful night. In fact, I composed a verse or two myself."

At that Hedwyn had to stop, and look up, and give Jodariel his most skeptical gaze. "Truly."

"Would I lie?"

"...Hm. Well then." He had begun chopping the witherroot now, wrinkling his nose as the chunks splashed into the small cooking pot. "Maybe you'd sing them for me? We can see how far it's wandered from the truth."

 _Damn._ He had called her bluff. She struggled to remember what verses she knew, cobbling the lines together as best she could and tossing a word or two in to complete the rhythm. Hedwyn laughed all the while, and it warmed her heart in a way the campfire could not.

Finally, they settled in to eat, tapping tin bowls against one another in an empty gesture of thanks to the Downside, for providing what meagre offerings it had. And yet, the warmth of the stew, the way it filled the stomach, the flavors mingling together - even the attempt at cooking was better than nothing. It felt substantial, real in a way that so few things had felt for the past decade of Jodariel's life. There was effort put into this; there was a longing for something more than just survival.

It was a _something more_ that Jodariel had largely forgotten; but in just a week, this boy she had raised and been forced to leave when he was still far too young was already reminding her of what it meant to live. It _hurt_ , like her weight was only just beginning to settle back onto her bones.

Well. Nothing to do but finish it all, and give thanks, and this she did, for she would never find the words to say exactly what it meant to her, to be able to eat what they had prepared together. His smile - still so gentle, in spite of everything - let her know that, perhaps, he understood all the same.


End file.
